Effects of Basil Essential Oil Addition on the Quality of Soybean and Olive Oils

Abstract Vegetable oils are widely used in human food and are carriers of fat-soluble vitamins. In this study, we evaluated the impact of adding basil essential oil on the quality of soybean and olive oils. To this end, we added 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 mg g-1 of basil essential oil to degummed soybean oil and extra virgin olive oil. We also formulated soybean and olive oil samples with butylhydroxytoluene (BHT) (0.2 mg g-1) and those without antioxidants. All samples were subjected to accelerated aging at a temperature of 40 °C, and several qualitative parameters of soybean oil and olive oil were evaluated at 0, 15, 30, 45, and 60 days. The addition of basil essential oil inhibited the increase in acidity of soybean oil during accelerated aging; however, it did not help to prevent the oxidation of olive oil. After 60 days of aging, stands out reductions of 29.50% and 18.50%, respectively, in soy oil and olive oil with 1.5 mg g-1 of essential oil. The addition of basil essential oil showed promising applications in soybean oil.